The Valley of the End
by Kiraya
Summary: A collection of drabbles, Naruto POV with a generous side of Sasuke, based on the end of part one of the manga. Contains spoilers up to chapter 232, slight shounenai.
1. Namida

**THE VALLEY OF THE END** by Kiraya

**Disclaimer:** For the first and last time, I don't own Naruto; Kishimoto-sensei does. If I did, then Sasuke _wouldn't be acting like such an idiot!_

**WARNINGS:** Here be spoilers for the most recent chapters (up to 232) of the manga. Also, there is some slight shounen-ai.

**Drabble I:** Namida

--

The chakra of the demon fox, the great and terrible Nine Tails, burned Naruto as it never had before, filling his lungs and throat and veins and his whole soul with an unholy flame that threatened to turn his very being to ash.

But the heat of that power was nothing compared to that of the fiery, bitter tears that welled up in his crimson, slit-pupiled eyes and ran down his whisker-marked cheeks.

--

**Note:** "Namida" is Japanese for "tears."


	2. Tatakai

**THE VALLEY OF THE END** by Kiraya

**Drabble II:** Tatakai

--

His body moved of its own accord.

It was his survival instinct, as well as the kyuubi's, that made Naruto dodge kunai and shuriken and kick and punch and parry sharp blows. It was his training that created the whirling, brilliant chakra-sun — the technique only two others, both considered far superior, had ever been able to master — to explode with a roar against the shrill bird-calls of the fistful of lightning his opponent wielded.

His mind was too overwhelmed, racing with questions and shock and anger and memories, to be of any use at all.

--

**Note:** "Tatakai" is Japanese for "struggle" or "conflict."


	3. Doushite?

**THE VALLEY OF THE END** by Kiraya

Henceforth, all is in second person. Guess who the "you" is :P

_Italics_ denote direct quotes from the manga.

**Drabble III:** Doushite?

--

_Why, Sasuke...?_

What is it about power that calls to him so strongly that he'd do this, that he'd leave everything he's ever known behind, with no chance of returning?

_I can't let you..._

You can't allow him to offer up his body to that soulless bastard Orochimaru, all for the sake of the power he wants, craves, **needs** to defeat his aniki.

Itachi... of course. The drive to kill that man has been the center of his life for so long, and having him within reach so recently, being so thoroughly trounced by him... It must be unbearable.

But Sasuke doesn't want to take the time to lick his wounds and continue training, continue trying to improve himself in the traditional way. He'd get to where he wants to be through that — you know he has the potential, that if ever you were to have a rival for the position of the Rokudaime Hokage, Uchiha Sasuke would be it. But he wants a shortcut, something that will allow him to strike back **now**, while the sting of his humiliation is still fresh.

Revenge is a dish best served hot, after all, and his just came right off the reheat.

Still... you can't let him do that. You **won't** let him, even if it costs you your life in the end, even if he refuses to acknowledge you as an equal in this battle — heavens forbid that dead-last Uzumaki Naruto be equal to the genius, the last child of the great Uchiha clan.

This, then, is how you must fight him.

--

**Note:** "Doushite" is Japanese for "why."


	4. Nakama… Soshite Raibaru

**THE VALLEY OF THE END** by Kiraya

**Drabble IV:** Nakama... Soshite Raibaru

--

"_To me... you have become my closest friend._"

How could he let such poisonous words slip from his lips when everything he's just done to you has been a denial of that? People don't try to kill their closest friends, Sasuke. Life doesn't work that way. It never has, and it never will. Why is he so serious? Does he really mean to... to...?

_Can you kill me calmly, Sasuke...?_ Without emotion, without guilt or grief or even the smallest bit of regret?

You don't think he can. You hope against hope that, somewhere inside the anger and hate and lust for power and even that overwhelming, everlasting hurt that is eating him alive, there remains some small trace of the old Sasuke, **your **Sasuke, the one you fought alongside proudly, the one who, though it would kill you to admit it, you always strove to be like...

"_I want to fight you._"

His first true acknowledgement of you meant more than that of anyone else, and oh, how much you've wanted to battle him since!

...but not like this. This was not how it was supposed to be. You were supposed to fight as rivals, yes, but honourably, each using the other as a measure of his abilities, each striving to better himself by setting the strength of the other as his goal.

But this... this is how it is. This is how it will have to be.

And you hate it.

--

**Note:** "Nakama" is Japanese for "friend" or "companion." "Soshite" means "and," and "raibaru..." well, all I really need to tell you is that it's a conjugate, right?


	5. Kizuna

**THE VALLEY OF THE END** by Kiraya

**Drabble V:** Kizuna

--

"_What the hell do you understand about me!?_"

He's right. You've never lost your family and everyone dear to you, not like he has. Hell, you never had one to lose in the first place. But those you've grown to know since... Iruka-sensei is probably the closest thing to a father you'll ever know. And Sasuke...

_When I'm with you... I wonder if it's like being with a brother._

Is it, really? Heavens know the two of you argue enough that it could pass for sibling rivalry. And... you do care for him, a lot, though you don't usually show it. Your relationship with him is — was? — one of the closest you ever had with someone. You always thought — hoped — he felt the same way, deep down...

"_I will break that bond!"_

Oh, how wrong it seems you were.

--

**Note:** "Kizuna" is Japanese for "bonds."


	6. Omoide

**THE VALLEY OF THE END** by Kiraya

**Drabble VI:** Omoide

--

Even as you struggle against him, against those accursed eyes of his, as red as the kyuubi's seemingly bottomless chakra... those Sharingan you've come to hate flashing, eager for your blood...

Even now, after he finally acknowledges your strength... Even now, when there are no more words... Even now, seeing that... that **thing** Orochimaru's power has turned him into... Even now, while the kitsune's power sings its terrible, shrieking song all through your veins, making you feel almost as inhuman as Sasuke looks...

Even now, some part of your mind refuses to accept it.

You can remember shy smiles shared from a distance when you both were little, two loners with a delightful secret you hardly knew yourselves.

You can remember all the times you ever fought together, all the times you each watched the other's back, all those nights you trained together until the sun touched the horizon, both too stubborn to stop before the other...

You remember the stupid things, the little things.

You remember all the names he called you, all the times he hit and punched and shoved you, all the times he looked at you — with his night-black eyes, not the loathsome crimson ones that impassively follow you now — hell, even all the times he smiled that insufferably cocky smile of his, and heavens know that was a lot.

You remember that fight on the bridge, when you both thought he was dying, and you remember the feel of his needle-studded, blood-stained body in your arms.

_Why...?_

"_I hated you..."_

_But why!? I never asked for your help!_

"_I don't know... My body just moved on its own..."_

"_Don't die..."_

You remember that ridiculous, accidental kiss that wasn't **really** a kiss, and, strangely, wonder why neither of you pulled away sooner.

As Uchiha Sasuke runs at you, murder in his eyes and the Chidori keening in his hand, you can feel what little wholeness is left of your heart breaking.

Fiery, bitter tears well up in slit-pupiled eyes and run down whisker-marked cheeks as you call forth the Rasengan in answer, and move to meet your other half.

--

**Note:** "Omoide" is Japanese for "memories."

owari.


End file.
